1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a loading pallet, and in particular, to a loading pallet which presents a flat supporting surface which prevents sliding when pallets are stacked while empty.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Pallets for supporting and moving various types of articles are well known. Pallets are made of many materials, including wood, metal, fiberglass or plastic, depending on the intended use and environment in which it is used. Pallets generally provide a support surface and are adapted for use with various types of loading equipment, including attachment to cranes or lifting by forklifts or pallet jacks.
Pallets are often constructed with a planar supporting portion and feet or runners extending downward therefrom to elevate the articles being supported off the ground to prevent moisture, dirt and other debris from coming into contact with the supported articles. When not in use, the pallets are typically stored in a stacked configuration. However, the stacks may become very high and the amount of space required for storing the pallets may be quite extensive. In addition, the pallets may easily slide relative to one another, making the stacks very unstable.
Difficulty arises when trying to design safeguards to prevent stacked empty pallets from sliding while maintaining a supporting surface which will not harm the articles being supported. Indentations in the supporting surface of the pallet have been made in some prior art pallets to align with the supporting feet when empty pallets are stacked, but these indentations may damage some of the soft goods supported on the pallets. For example, indentations on pallets supporting sheets of paper may cause indentations on the bottom sheets over the area spanning the indentations, as great weight is applied by the paper mass, which may often weigh more than a ton. This causes quality control problems and leads to a portion of the paper being unusable, thereby increasing costs.
It can be seen then that a pallet is needed which is lightweight and sufficiently strong to support heavy loads. In addition, such a pallet should provide a maximum supporting surface area which does not damage the articles being supported, yet provides for empty pallets being stackable in a manner in which they do not easily slide relative to one another. Moreover, such a pallet should provide some nesting capabilities so that the overall height of the stacked empty pallets is reduced. The present invention addresses these as well as other problems related to storage pallets.